Are you looking for help getting your first technology job? Are you having a
hard time with these entry-level or fresh roles trying to find a job? This video is for you.
Hi, my name is Michael Gibbs. I'm the founder and CEO of Go Cloud Architects
and we're an organization dedicated towards building high performance
cloud computing and networking careers. I've been working in technology for over 25 years now,
and I've been coaching or mentoring others to get their first tech job or get promoted in tech for
over two decades. And I've loved every last minute of it.
This is part of a series about getting your first technology job.
In this series, you will recall, we started out with what economic conditions related to
both macro economic conditions, like the global economy, as well as the micro economic conditions
in the technology space that are making it near impossible to get these fresher or entry-level
roles. Don't worry. We're just going to upskill you to get you a non-fresher role,
a better job in the first place, a job with more career potential. And we're going to
cut out some of that time to rise up through that technology ladder. So don't worry. We can do this.
My first job was a senior network engineer. I didn't take any entry level jobs and I didn't
study technology in school. I was a nurse practitioner practicing internal medicine. So
that's all I knew. And my first tech job was a senior network engineer. I was a lead architect
within six months and I can do it, you can do it too. And so many of my students have.
Let's talk about some ways to give you some advantages. When you're new and you have no
experience, it's much harder because the hiring managers won't necessarily have the faith that you
can do the job. So we talked about building you the optimal resume. We talked about things that
you know, so you know what people do in certain jobs so you can focus on it. We talked about
certifications to get you the interview. And this is going to help prepare you for the interview.
See, when people buy things, they buy what they want. What is the interview? It's a
hiring manager interviewing you to see if he wants to purchase you to be a team member on
his team. So when I go on an interview, I look at me like I'm the product and they're the customer.
When I'm the hiring manager, I'm the customer. So I want the product to be perfect for me.
So I want you to understand that. So be what the purchaser wants and you'll get hired.
I want you to understand what these things are.
Now for you, with your first tech jobs, you got a lot of burden to do. You have
to first prove competency and then inspire the hiring manager to say, "I feel secure in you."
And you have to be likable, more likable than in any other phase of your life,
because you've got to think working against you. You have to have the perfect attitude,
the perfect energy, the perfect enthusiasm. The thing that makes the hiring manager say,
"I don't know why, but I have to have that person on my team." And you back that up with real skill,
you'll get hired every time. I was hired within 15 minutes of my first interview on my first tech
job. I've interviewed for five companies and I've been hired by all five. Know what the purchaser
wants, and the purchaser will buy. You got a car to sell, figure out what the customer wants,
match them with the right car, with the right price, and they buy. You got a house to sell.
Find the house that the person wants, get the right house for the right price, and they buy.
When I get hired, be with the hiring manager wants and you get hired every time. So let's
talk about what the hiring manager wants. Because as a fresher, you probably don't
know because you've probably not been a manager before, especially if this is your first job.
So what do hiring managers want? I'm going to tailor it to the pressure here,
but this applies to all people. The first thing an employer wants is someone that can do that job.
That's it. Someone that can do the job. It means technical competency. Who do you want
to hire for a security engineer? A 14 year old that can hack into the Pentagon or someone with
25 year experience that doesn't know anything? You want the person that can do the job. And remember
that. Hiring managers all know that. That's why we hiring managers have a different philosophy
than HR. We want someone that can do the job and that matters most. So be great at what you do.
Now, this next factor is so important. And if you can deliver this right,
this will be the biggest help in your career. We hiring managers want someone we can trust.
So someone that can do the job and someone we can trust. So this is really essential. 99%
of all interviews end here, right here. I've interviewed over 5,000 people in my career.
Here's where 99% of all interviews work. I ask someone a technical question, very simple. They
don't know. And they bluff, which is a lie. Now, I just told you, employers want someone
that can do the job and someone they can trust. The second someone lies, you're done. It's over.
Now, like you'll be polite. You'll be nice to them. And you'll say, "Sorry, you don't have any
experience. I can't work with you." It's better to say, "Sorry, you don't have experience." Then say,
"You're horrible. I don't trust you. I don't like you." So understand this. If we bring you in for
an interview, because we're busy, we don't have the time. We're willing to hire regardless of your
experience, if you do the right thing. We don't have time to interview you. Do you have any idea
how busy a hiring manager is? They're probably working 60, 70 hours a week. They don't have time
to interview you. Every 15 minutes they interview with you or 30 minutes, means 30 minutes longer
they have to work that day. So they're only going to bring you in if they think they can hire you.
So don't fall into that trap. Someone that can do the job, competent. Someone that's trustworthy,
be honest. If you don't know the answer to an interview question,
it's okay. Tell the hiring managers, "I'm sorry. I've not had the opportunity to learn that yet,
but I need to be honest with you. I'm highly energetic. I'm highly motivated. I love tech,
but this is not something I know right now. If it was part of my job,
I would go home and I would read it. I would study it. I would master it. It's just,
I have to be honest with you, but guess what Mr. Manager, Mrs. Manager, I have expertise in A, B C.
If you want to check my technical competency, I can elaborate on those much further."
You did two things. You proved honesty. You prove trust. You proved integrity. You
proved you're someone to be listened to. And you also told them, you know what you know,
you know what you don't know. And more than that, you pointed him to your areas of expertise.
You controlled the interview. When you are new, you have to control things with what you know
so they don't focus on what you don't.
Now, here is really applicable to the fresher. So critical, I'm going to highlight it three times.
Safety, safety, safety. What do I mean by safety? When you know a lot, you know the things you
don't know. For an example, I'm a Cisco certified internet expert with almost 30 years experience.
When I was a junior and I did my first thing, I knew everything.
I became a CCMP I'm like, "Wow, there's a lot I don't know." I became the pinnacle,
the Cisco certified internet expert. And I went, "Oh my God, I only know 2% of this networking
world." Then the more I learned, the more I knew I didn't know. And granted, I was a world renowned
expert. I was requested and I traveled several hundred thousand miles for years, just to have
people hear me speak. But guess what? I still knew what I knew and there was a whole world out there.
So when you are new, you need to know your limitations. You need to know what you know,
and you need to know what you don't know. Convince that hiring manager
you're knowledgeable of yourself. You're knowledgeable of your limitations. They're
going to trust you more. And they're going to like you. You're energetic. You're enthusiastic. Guess
what? That is your secret weapon. Use that energy and enthusiasm and passion. Show them
that you want to learn. You're there to learn and you will learn. Show them that you will do
anything necessary to get the job done. You do that, you're now using your strengths because
we see that energy. We call you guys fireballs. When I say guys, I mean men and women in general,
but in general, we see that youthful person with that kind of energy, enthusiasm, passion and say,
"Wow." So if we know the young person is competent or the fresh out of school competent, and we can
trust them and we know they know their limitations and they're energetic and enthusiastic. Wow. We
love them. So highlight that. That's one of your secret powers coming as a new person.
What else to we want? People that raise the energy in the room. We don't want to cranking
person like this. How are you everybody? It's good to see you. Can I help with this? That's what we
want. Not just... So be positive, bring out the best in others. Guess what other people like?
Competitiveness. So be young, be competitive, fresh out of school. Try to be the best.
Show them you're willing to work hard. Okay. Really important. Again, fresh out of school,
maybe played team sports, going to help you. That's why we're putting this in the fresher part.
What else is really great? We want to know that someone is willing to go above and beyond.
So don't ask them on an interview, "What's the work life balance?" I promise you that
will end in disaster. Walk in there, show that you're prepared for work.
That you're willing to do anything to get the job done, to help the manager get promoted,
to help them manager live a better life, to help the company succeed. You'll get hired.
So these are the kinds of things that managers want to hear. Show this to the manager and they
will be thankful. This is what they want to know. So show them you're a team player,
show them you're willing to go above and beyond, show them you've got great energy, enthusiasm,
passion. Show that you're competent so that you know what you know and you know what you don't
know. Show that you're trustworthy, but most of all, be so likable, they can't help but hire you.
So we'll do another one on interviews, but I want you to understand this. 50% of when we
interview someone, their scores are the technical capability, and the other 50% are the intangibles,
energy, enthusiasm, passion, emotional intelligence, executive presence. So what's
your secret weapon to getting a job when you're a fresher and you don't have experience? Maximize
that 50% intangibles. Train these skills, combine excellent communication, emotional intelligence,
executive presence, leadership skills, business knowledge. Combine that with technical competency
and you will get your first tech job and it'll be a great one. And you'll be
just like me. Your first role will be a senior role. Your next role will be a leadership role
and you'll avoid all those steps to the top. So work hard,
study hard, train for your best life, train for your best career and work to get better every day.
I'm Michael Gibbs. I'm the founder and CEO of Go Cloud Architects.
I'm honored to be able to provide some training to you,
as much free training as we possibly can. Please watch, like, subscribe to
our channel and we'll be coming at you soon with some industry experts and so much more.
It was so nice having you join us for this video today.
Let me tell you about some free services we do for the cloud community. Twice per week,
we have a free how to get your first cloud architect job webinar, where we tell you all
the things you need to do and know to get your first cloud architect job. In addition to that,
once per week, we actually have a free question and answer session on live on YouTube. We can
come and ask us any questions you want about building your career related to cloud computing
or networking and we'll answer them in real time for you because we want to get you to your goals.
Several more times per week, we have guests from industry. Industry experts that I've
known for decades that are movers and shakers that have changed the world, that can give you
information so you can build the best career. I invite them periodically. They are on my show.
If there's a chance to do some free training on our channel, we'll do it live because we want
you to all to have the best skills for the best career. So please subscribe and hit the bell.
I look forward to seeing you and I look forward to assisting you in your technology career.
Thank you so much. This is Michael Gibbs from Go Cloud Architects.